Cop Shop: Victim's family not surprised by Sean O'Neill news

When it comes to the seemingly endless O'Neill family drama, Susan Sheridan has reached her limit.

"I got to the point I have to laugh. It's such a joke," the typically outspoken Sheridan said Wednesday night.

Don't mistake that for not caring.

"I just figure it's out of my control ... I don't get as whacked out as I used to," Sheridan said. "Do I think about all of it every day? You betcha."

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Sheridan was reacting to the latest news that Sean O'Neill Jr. -- the person who shot and killed her 17-year-old son, Scott Sheridan, in September 2006 -- fled to the Irish Republic, presumably to join up with his deported father, Sean O'Neill Sr., a native of Northern Ireland. It was at the close of an underage drinking party at the O'Neill's former home in Willistown, a property that straddles both Delaware and Chester counties, when O'Neill began pointing his father's pistol around, and shot Sheridan in the face.

Though Sheridan first heard Tuesday from her sister about O'Neill skipping out on his probation for a 2011 Thanksgiving Day drunken-driving crash, she received a phone message Wednesday from the Chester County Victim Witness office. She said the office has been great in keeping her in the loop, pretty much since O'Neill's early legal encounters.

When Sheridan heard O'Neill was in trouble yet again, she wasn't at all surprised.

"I knew he would do something, that he would screw up again," she said.

Chester County authorities said O'Neill, 23, is currently in the Irish Republic, having skipped out on his probation, according to The Daily Local News in West Chester, a sister paper to the Daily Times. O'Neill Jr. is now a fugitive.

Back in July, when O'Neill was sentenced to prison time in the DUI crash, Sheridan was among those in the courtroom.

"He was bawling his eyes out, saying how sorry he was for everyone he hurt," she recalled. But she wasn't buying any of it.

"I didn't feel like it was sincere," she said.

Sheridan had been asked by the Chester County prosecutor to come to court, and even speak. She said O'Neill's defense attorney objected, so she never got the chance to say a word.

And Sheridan was more than ready, "with both barrels," she said.

When she thinks about all the opportunities O'Neill has been given to turn his life around since Scott's death, she admitted feeling angry, as well as frustrated.

"How many times do you get chances?"

When she was in court, she said O'Neill Jr. never once looked at her. Neither did his mother, Eileen O'Neill, or his sister, Fiona O'Neill.

Not that Sheridan cared all that much.

"I can't stand looking at them," she said.

Sheridan said her husband calls them "the O'Neill sentencing crew." In 2009, they were also in court when Sean O'Neill Sr. was found guilty of federal immigration, tax evasion and weapons offenses, and again when daughter/sister Roisin O'Neill was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for a drunken driving crash on the Blue Route in Montgomery County that killed Patricia Waggoner, a 63-year-old Massachusetts grandmother.

Sheridan guesses that O'Neill Jr. "probably feels like he got over on everyone. But I think it's a beginning of a whole new set of troubles."

She said his absence would undoubtedly have some impact on his 2-year-old child, who has special needs.

Fleeing the law is bad enough, she said, "but skipping out on your child ... he is pretty incredible."

On a happier note, Sheridan said life has been good since the move back to Delaware County from Arizona in May 2011. She's closer to her own family, including Scott's daughter, 5-year-old Cayla Scott Denoncour.

"I get to see her every weekend," Sheridan said. "She is the spitting image of Scott."

Spoken like a proud "nannie."

Delaware County Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino will be honored Friday as the 2012 "Angel Champion" for Court Appointed Special Advocates, commonly known as CASA.

"I am honored to be recognized by an organization that services victims of child abuse," Galantino said Wednesday night.

CASA is a national association that recruits, trains and supports volunteers who represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom.

Galantino was chosen because of his commitment as chief of the Special Victims Unit in prosecuting allegations of abuse of children in the county. He has prosecuted thousands of cases in his 23-year career, including more than 130 jury trials to verdict.

"Through his work fighting for abused children, he has been an angel champion for CASA," Executive Director Anne Shenberger stated in a prepared release issued by the district attorney's office.

"Because of the dedication that each court-appointed advocate devotes and the partnership that exists between CASA and our office, Delaware County's most vulnerable victim, the children, are better served and protected," District Attorney Jack Whelan stated. He called the award to Galantino well deserved.

Galantino, along with John Nee, the 2012 Volunteer Advocate of the Year, will be honored at the organization's 20th anniversary gala and auction at the Drexelbrook Events Center in Upper Darby. The annual holiday event generates a significant portion of the group's operating budget.

"By donating an auction item or becoming a sponsor, you will help us advocate for the fundamental rights of a greater number of children struggling through our dependency court system," Shenberger said in the release.

Joining Galantino at the event will be his wife, Diana, and their daughter, Melanie. Daughter Alexis, a student at Springfield High, has a previous school commitment.